Quantum

52

The phone rang, breaking the silence that filled the room where Orlov was waiting. He answered it quickly, fully aware it was Dmitri Leskov on the other end.

‘The call to Kilkenny is done.’

‘Any problems?’

‘Nyet. We kept it short, not enough time for a phone trace. Newton said nothing other than what we told her to say.’

‘Good. Put Josef in charge of the hostages. With Kilkenny and Cooper coming to Moscow, I want you here handling security. Your tickets are waiting for you at Tri-City Airport. Flight arrangements have been made that should get you here a few hours ahead of our visitors.’

As he wrote down the flight information, a surge of anger flushed Leskov’s skin. Kilkenny’s hands touched nearly everything that had gone wrong with this operation, including the death of his brother Pavel. He toyed with the idea of letting his men rape Kilkenny’s woman just for spite, but such an action didn’t fit in with Victor Orlov’s plans.

‘I’m on my way, sir. Any change to our plans for the hostages?’

‘None.’

‘Do you expect any trouble from Kilkenny or from this Cooper?’

‘No, but I want you here to make certain that things go smoothly. Once I have the ciphers, you can settle things with Kilkenny.’

‘I understand, Victor Ivanovich,’ Leskov replied. ‘Spasiba.’